Wax Poetics Issue 66 (DJ Shadow b/w David Axelrod)

DJ ShadowThe late 1980s and early ’90s saw the dawn of a new day as sampling was at a high point with hip-hop’s golden era. Following in the footsteps of Double Dee & Steinski, Prince Paul, and the Dust Brothers, DJ SHADOW would push the boundaries of sampling with his early Mo’ Wax releases. His first full-length album, Endtroducing…, further shined a light on the art form, as the album exploded through popular culture and put the reluctant star in the spotlight.

David AxelrodProducer/composer DAVID AXELROD landed a dream job at Capitol Records in 1964, immediately working with jazz legend Cannonball Adderley and lifting soul singer Lou Rawls to great heights.

Leon Sylvers IIIGifted songwriter, bassist, and producer LEON SYLVERS III led his siblings’ group THE SYLVERS from their teenaged harmony-tinged sweet-soul beginnings to mainstream disco heights. Then, in the late-’70s and early ’80s, he helped usher in the new wave of synthesizer-driven R&B, writing and producing hits for everyone from Shalamar to Gladys Knight and the Pips.

DJ Krush
After splitting with his crew in Japan, DJ KRUSH embarked on a journey with British label Mo’ Wax that found the turntablist/producer using hip-hop’s breakbeat foundation while pioneering a new genre of abstract instrumentals.

Cynthia Robinson
CYNTHIA ROBINSON was a single mother when she joined Sly and the Family Stone as a trumpeter and vocalist in 1966. As one of the band’s most prominent figures, she became lovers with Sly, giving birth to their daughter, Sylvyette “Phunne” Stone, in 1976. Years later, as Robinson carried the torch with the Family Stone into the next century, Phunne would have the chance to join her mother onstage as a vocalist.

Also:
Australian plunderers the Avalanches release their first record in sixteen years; adventures of a reggae messenger with Danny Holloway.